Control for tiltable mixing drums



. Jan. 10, 1950 B. ESSICK CONTROL FOR TILTABLE MIXING DRUMS Filed Sept.50, 1946 9 7' TOENE Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEEssick Manufacturing Company, Los Angeles, Calif a corporation ofCalifornia Application September 30,

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a control'for a tiltable mixing drum and it isa general object of the invention to provide a simple inexpensive andpractical control for a tiltable mixing drum such as the drum of acement or plaster mixer. s 5

Mixers such as are commonly used for mixing cement, plaster, and likematerials are commonly constructed with a rotating drum carried in apivoted yoke and a control is provided to swing or tilt the yoke inorder to tilt or vary the angular 10 position of the drum. In-theordinary construction several parts are employed'betw'een the handle ofthe control and the point from which the drum is mounted, and theseparts'are joined or coupled through ordinary mechanical connections issuch as keys, pins, nuts, etc.

Machinery of this character is not precision made and, in practice, itreceives very hard usage, with the result that the joints or connectionsabove mentioned soon develop play or looseness go which is highlyundesirable. For example, when" play or looseness develops in thecontrol above referred to, or between the control and the drum, themechanism becomes hazardous sinc-etilting of the drum may change thecenter of gravity of the i go loaded drum and as the center of gravitychanges" the play or looseness is shifted from one direction to theother, allowing the drum to fall, or quickly move an amount allowed bythe total play or looseness. Such falling or quick movement of the,. 0drum may cause spilling of the contents therefrom, which may, undercertain circumstances, be dangerous to workmen and which defeats thepurpose of the control in that it makes it impossible for the-operatorto accurately" control tilting of, the drum.

It is an: object of this: invention to. provide a control for a machineof the character mentioned which involves a single joint or connectionbetween the point at which the drum is mounted go and the handle of thecontrol. The single joint or. connection provided in the-structure; thatI have provided is a working joint or connection and is the onlypossible; point at which play or looseness canoccun By providing amechanismi gs involving a single point'of possible play orlooseness Iminimize the difficulties hereinabove outlined and provide a machinethat is safe and dependable in operation. A further object of-thepresent invention is. to provide a control of the gao 1946, Serial No.700,274.

in a manner to create appreciable looseness between the handle of thecontrol and the drum.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a control ofthe general character referred to which involves a geared drive orconnection in which one element or gear is integrally joined to the yokeon whichthe drum is mounted, while the other is integrally joined'to thehandle of the control.

The various objects and'features of my inventionwill be fully understoodfrom the following detailed descripti'onof a t'ypical'preferred formand. application of the invention, throughout which descriptionreference ismad'e to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typical'mixer embodyingthe presentinvention: Fig. 2 is an enl'arged view of parts of the control, being aview taken as indicated by line 2-2 on Fig. l, and Fig.

3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken substantially asindicated byline 3--3 on Fig. 2.

The control that'I'have provided'i's applicable to mixers generally.However, since itisparticularly useful as applied to or incorporated inmixers'such'as-are employed to mixcement or plaster; Ihave in thedrawings'shown it applied toa typical cementf'mixer'. The particularmachine illustrated involves, generally; a frame A, a yoke B; bearings Ccarried by-the frame and supporting theyoke, a mixing drum D, a pivotalmounting- E for the mixi-ngdrumby which it is pivotally supported fromthe yoke; drive-means F- for the drum; and controlmeansG for thedrum-controlling tilting of the drum through the yoke B:

The-frames A thatl have illustrated isa rigid, fabricatedstructurenormally held in the desired position by-supportin wheels W and a legl0.Thebed or base H of I the frameextends substantially horizontally and issupportedfrom the wheels through springs 12. and by the leg I 0 througha direct connection-with the leg. The frame, is characterizedby spaceduprightsv M which carry the bearings- C that in. turn support the yoke.B. A rearwardextension li of the base forms. a. support or carrier for ahousing l5. provided around. the, power means. or engine of the. drive.means F.

The-yoke B is a rigid. element involving. 2. .center. sectionorbody l6and. spacedparallel'sides or arms ll. Inaccordance. with my constructionthe.yokeincludesltrunnions. l8! at the. outer endsjof the arms IT. Thetrunnions [8 are integrally iOillQdntQ or. tormedwith thearms. ll

sides of the arms at the outer end portions thereof.

The bearings C provided to support the yoke from the frame preferablyinvolve split bearings one on the upper end of each support I of theframe and each embodying a lower or seat section rigidly joined with orintegrally formed on the upper end of the frame support and a removabletop or cap section 2i. The bearings C are carried by the supports l4 sothat they are spaced apart to accommodate the yoke, as shown in thedrawings. The arms of the yoke are confined between the bearings C whilethe trunnions 18 of the yoke are rotatably supported in the bearings.

The mixing drum D that I have illustrated is of the form or typecommonly employed in cement mixers and has a round body enclosed at itslower end by a curved bottom 25 and provided at its upper end withasomewhat contracted or conical neck portion 21, the neck por- -tionbeing open allowing material to be filled yoke and which intersects theaxis of the .trunj nions Ill.

The drive means F for the drum D includes a suitable source ofpower v:orprime mover such as an engine located in the housing l5. I'have 1 notshown the details of the engine in the housing since my presentinvention is in no way concerned with this detail. The drive to the druminvolves a pinion 28 driven by the engine or prime mover which pinionmeshes with a ring gear 29 fixed to the exterior of the body 25 of thedrum B.

The control G that I have provided governs the tilt of the drum D orforms a means by which the yoke B is tiltable about the axis of thetrunnions l8, it being apparent that when the yoke B is swung about thetrunnions the drum which is carried by the yoke istilted and can bevaried between an upright position such as is shown in Fig. 1 and anangular position where the top of the drum is lowered either tofacilitate filling of material into the drum or to allow material todischarge from the drum. The control means G may be applied to orconnected with either of the trunnions of the yoke, it bein preferred,ordinarily, to locate the control means at the forward end of themachine so that it is remote from i the drive which is preferablylocated at the rear end of the machine.

In the form illustrated the control means G includes, generally, a hub35 rotatably supported on a bearing pin, 3| projecting from an upright Mof the frame A, a rim 32 is supported from the hub by spokes 33 andforming a handle to be gripped by the operator, a gear 34 fixed to theouter orprojecting end of the trunnion l8 supported in the bearing Ccarried by the support I4 which carries the bearing pin 3|, teeth 35 onthe hub 3t forming a pinion meshing with the gear 34 and a manuallycontrolled lock means 38. I

The bearin pin 3] which carries the hub 39 issu'pported by the'support Mof the frame to project from the outer or forward side thereof, 75'vided the structure is solid or integral from the and in the caseillustrated it has a bearing part 40 on which the hub operates and areduced end part 42 which extends through the support 14 and carries '3,mounting nut 43. The hub 30 is freely turnable or is rotatably supportedon the portion 40 of the bearing pin and is retained thereon by asuitable retainer 45.

The hub 30 may have a plain outer end portion 46 which carries thespokes 33 and thus becomes, in effect, the hub of a wheel which includesthe spokes and the rim 32. In accordance with my invention the innerends of the spokes are integrally joined to the outer portion 46 of thehub as by welding 6i) while the outer ends of the spokes are integrallyjoined to the rim 32 as by welding 6 I. Through this construction the.hub so that the inner end portion of the hub is a pinion that mesheswith the gear 34. I

The gear 34 is not merely keyed or bolted to the trunnion l8 through anordinary connection such as is ordinarily employed in such a situation,but rather it is integrally joined to the trunnion so that the gear 34is an integral part of the yoke B. In practice I have found it desirableto form the gear 34 separate from the yoke in which case it may be inthe nature of a plate integrally joined to the outer end of the trunnion!8, as by welding 49. By providing a split hearing C such as I havedescribed above I am able to initially establish the gear 34 as anintegral unit with the yoke B and in assembling the machine the yoke,with the gear as a part thereof,

is placed in the seat 20 of the bearing whereupon the cap of the bearingis arranged in place.

To facilitate ease in operation I prefer to make the gear 34 ofsubstantial diameter relative to the pinion on the inner end of the hub36 with the result that the operator engaging the rim 32 has asubstantial mechanical advantage over the yoke and is able to turn ortilt it with little efiort. The lock means 38 of the control preferably-includes a simple lock dog 50 on a pivot pin 5| supported by a bracket52 projecting upwardly from the frame or from the cap of the bearing Csupported by the frame. The dog 5!! is preferably arranged so that it isnormally held in. en-

gagement with the gear 34 by gravity and it is provided with a handle 55which projects forward so that it can be conveniently operated, enablingthe operator to release the lock means when he wishes to operate thecontrol to tilt the drum.

consequently the drum D he disengages the lock means 36 and operates thehandle or rim 32 in the desired direction. Turning of the rim 32 rotatesthe pinion portion of the hub which is integral with the rim 32 beingintegrally joined thereto by the spokes 33. Rotation of the pinionportion of the hub causes rotation of the gear 34 through engagement ofthe hub with the teeth of the gear. The gear 34 being integrally joinedt.gthe trunnion [8 turns the trunnion and consequently the entire yokeB. It is to be observed that through the construction that I havepropoint of the yoke where the drum is rotatably supported to the pointwhere the teeth of the gear mesh with the teeth of the hub 30.Furthermore, it will be apparent that the structure is solid or integralfrom the teeth 35 through the hub 39, spokes 33 and the rim 32. Theresult of this construction is that there is only one possible point forlooseness or play to develop and this is in the working connectionestablished between the pinion of the hub and the gear 34.

As a result of the construction that I have provided the drum is notonly easy to tilt or operate as desired, but it is free of undesirableplay or looseness and such play or looseness can never develop eventhough the machine is subjected to strenuous use, since there are nomechanical joints or connections of a character that can possibly workloose or develop freedom due to wear or strain.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specificdetails herein set forth, but wish to reserve to myself any variationsor modifications that may appear to those skilled in the art and fallwithin the scope of the following claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A mixer including, a frame, a yoke pivotally supported by the frame,a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yokeincluding, a handle, a gear element integral with the handle, a gearmember integral with the yoke and meshed with the first mentioned gearmember, and a lock member engageable with the teeth of one of said gearelements, the lock member being pivotally mounted on the frame.

2. A mixer including a frame carrying spaced coaxial bearings, a yokewith integral coaxial trunnions projecting from the sides of the yokeand supported in the bearings, a gear integral with the outer end of oneof the trunnions and concentric therewith, a bearing pin rigidly carriedby the frame and projecting therefrom, a hub rotatably carried on thepin and having teeth meshing with the gear, an annular handle, spokesintegral with the hub and with the handle, and a lock dog pivotallymounted on the frame to engage the teeth of the gear.

3. A mixer including, a frame, a yoke pivotally supported by the frame,a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yokeincluding, a handle, a gear element operatively connected with thehandle, a member operatively connected with the yoke and meshed with thefirst mentioned gear element, and a gravity actuated lock member carriedby the frame and engageable with the teeth of the gear element.

4. A mixer including, a rigid frame with spaced aligned bearings, a yokewith trunnions pivotally supported by the bearings of the frame, a drumrotatably supported in the yoke, and a control for the yoke including, apin rigid with and projecting outward from the frame, an integral unitincluding a handle and a gear element rotatably supported on the pin, agear element larger than the first mentioned gear element and integrallyconnected with a trunnion of the yoke and meshed with the firstmentioned gear element, and a lock member pivoted to the frame andengageable with the teeth of the larger gear element.

5. A mixer including, a frame, a yoke pivotally supported by the frameon a horizontal axis, a drum rotatably supported in the yoke, and acontrol for the yoke including, a handle, a gear element integral withthe handle, a pin rigid with the frame projecting outward therefrom androtatably supporting said gear element, a gear element larger than thefirst mentioned gear element and integral with the yoke and meshed withthe first mentioned gear element, a bracket rigid with the frame andprojecting from the frame to a point adjacent the periphery of thelarger gear element, and a lock member pivotally carried by the bracketandengageable with the teeth of the larger gear element.

6. A mixer including, a frame carrying spaced coaxial bearings, a yokewith trunnions carried in the bearings, a drum rotatably supported inthe yoke, and a control for the yoke including a gear fixed on onetrunnion, a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the frame, a gear fixed tothe wheel and meshing with the first mentioned gear, a bracketprojecting up from the bearing carrying said trunnion, and a lock memberpivotally carried by the bracket and normally held by gravity inengagement with teeth of the first mentioned ear.

BRYANT ESSICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,314,390 French Aug. 26, 19191,453,323 Palmeter May 1, 1923 2,299,888 Fesenmaier Oct. 27, 1942FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 680,531 France May 1, 1930

